Valve-cap



EA E. HOLI. v'ALvE CAP.

APPLICATION FILED MAH. 4. I9I8.

1 ,329, 182. Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

Z6 55 Jg Ef EDWARD E. HOLT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGICOR TO HOLT AUTO DEVICES COMPANY,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

VALVE-CAP.

To all whom t may concern.' j

Be it known that I, EDWARD E.l HoL'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improve# ments in Valve-Caps, of which the following` is a specification.

The present invention has to do with improvements vin valve caps for use in connection with the air vvalves ofpneumatic tires and the like. The valve stem usually projects up through the wheel felly to the inside of the felly and it is customary topprovide a suitableform: of cap for closing off and protecting the end portion of the valve, so as to keep out dirt, dust,vandthe like. Avery familiar form of valve stem at the present time found on the marketis one in which the member is threaded and'in which the stem is cut away at each side and iiattened so that it cannot rotate within the hole through which it passes through the felly. At the present time it isthe general practice to so construct thevalve caps that they are inserted and removed by threading them onto and oli from the valve stem. This means that the cap has to be threaded all the way down along the length of theY stem, and it means furthermore that the threading and r unthreading operations will very often have to be accomplished on dirty orv dusty threads. j l Y Unless the valve cap be'securely threaded onto the stem, it is liable to becomeV unthreaded. owing to the jarring and jolting of the wheel during service.V Frequently, valve caps are thus lost before the vehicle has proceeded more than a few hundred feet.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a valve cap of such construction that it can be slipped down dire'c'tly over the threads of the stem to the desired point. and then be caused to engage with said threads so as to lock the valve cap in such position. In this connection, another object is to so construct the valve cap that it can be readily removed bv a similar operation, thus making it possible to either attach or detach the valve cap almost instantaneous'lv and without having to go through the laborious process of threading and unthreading.

Another object of the-invention is to so Spec'icaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 4, 1918.

Patented Jan. 27, 1920. serial No. 22am.

construct the valve cap that when it has once been attached to the stem, it cannot be unthreaded, thus making it impossible for' fiat surfaces ordinarily to be foundin the valve stems now on the market. This will make it possible to'use the valve capof the present invention in conjunction with valve stems of well known construction;

Another object of the inventionis toprovide a very simple construction of valve cap'and one which can be manufactured at a very low cost and assembled in a' very Other objects and" uses of the invention" will appear from a detailed description of the same` which consists in the: features of construction and'combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimedil In the drawing:

Figure 1 shows a vertical section throughV a valve cap embodying the features of the present invention, the same being fully applied to a valve mentioned;

Fig. 2 shows a view corresponding to" Fig. 1, with exception that the sleeve has been raised so as to disengage the threaded blocks from the threads of the stem in order to permit either insertion or removal of the 021D;

Fig. 3v shows a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. looking in the direction of thel arrows, Fig. 3 being on an enlarged sca e;

Fig. 4 shows a fragmentary longitudinal section through the lower portion of the sleeve. being taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 shows a section taken on the line 5'5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows. v

Referring to the several figures, the wheel felly is shownin fragmentary section byV the numeral 6. The valve stem 7 projects up through the wheel felly and receives the capon its protruding portion. This valve stem isshown as being threaded and also as stem of the pipe previously' being provided with the attened surfaces 8 and 9.

In constructing the cap shown in the drawings, a sleeve 10 is provided of size suitable to slip down over the protruding portion of the valve stem. This sleeve is provided at a suitable point with a pair of ilattened surfaces or portions 11 and 12, corresponding to the Hattened surfaces of the valve stem. Consequently, when the sleeve is set down over the valve stem, it is locked against rotation. Adjacent to the flattened portions of the sleeve a number of openings are provided for the accommodation of screw threaded segments or the like, whose function is to engage with the threads of the valve stem in order to lock the cap in position thereon. ln the particular arrangement illustrated, l have shown four of these openings, the same being designated 13, 14, 15 and 16.

A threaded split collar comprising the portions 17 and 18 surrounds the sleeve 10 at a point adjacent to the flattened portions 11 and 12. This split collar has the segmental tooth extensions 19, 20, 21 and 22,

which are adapted to project through the openings 13, 14, 15 and 16, when the sections of the split collar are forced together to thereby cause said threaded segments to engage with the threads on the valve stem.

. Slidably mounted on the lower portion of the sleeve 10 is a cam sleeve 23, the upper portion 24 of which is of sizeY appropriate to slide easily on'the body of the sleeve 10, and the lower portion 25 of which is enlarged to avsize sufficient to accommodate the sections 17 and 18ct the split collar when said sections are opened apart a sufficient distance to completely disengage their teeth from the teeth of the valve stem. The

. peripheral surface ofthe sections ofthe split collar is tapered upwardly, as is well shown in Figs. 1 and 2. rlhe central por-l tion 26 of the sleeve 23 is similarly tapered, so that when said sleeve 23is forced downwardly, it will clamp or wedge the threaded sections against the valve stem.

A spring 27 tends to force the sleeve 23 down at all times, so as to thereby automatically wedge the threaded sections against the valve stem. The upper end of the spring 27 bears against a suitable abutment. In the particular arrangement illustrated this abutment is provided by van inclosing cap 28 which is rigidly connected to the sleeve 10 and has an enlargement to accommodate the spring and provide the shoulder 29.

With the parts as thus far constituted, the wedge blocks will be automatically thrust into engagement with the screw threads by the influence of the spring. ln order to disengage these `parts l have pro vided the sliding sleeve 30, the upper end of which slides easily on the lower portion of the sleeve 28. The lower end of the sleeve 30 is flanged inwardly, as at 81, and the lower portion of the sleeve 23 bears against said flange. Therefore, by sliding the sleeve 30 upwardly with respect to the sleeve 2S the sleeve 23 will also be raised against the influence of the spring to thereby permit disengagement of the threaded segbetween the valve cap and the wheelv felly,v

in order to thereby insure a dust-tight closure of all portions of lrhe cap itself. l have, therefore` shown a double washer as encircling the flange 82. One portion of this washer is compressed. between the fianges 31 and 32. and thD other portion of the washer bears against the surface of the wheel fellv.

It will be understood that while l have herein shown and described a snlir collar having threads suitable to engage with the threads on the valve stem in order to lock the cap to the valve stem. still the arrangement is not limited to the use of threads for this purpose. inasmuch as anv other suitable form of connection might be ladopted. Furthermore. while l have herein shown and described the valve can as being applied to a particular form of valve stem, it will also be understood that l do not limit its use to Ythis form of valve stem, nor to anv other form of valve stern.

l claim: Y 1. ln a device of the class described` th combination with a corrugated valve stem having a longitudinally extending flattened surface. of a cylindrical member slidably mounted on the valve stem and having a flattened portion adapted to engage said surface, there being a plurality -of openings in said cylindrical member. a split collar comprising sections encircling the cylindrical member and having a plurality of'corrugation engaging extensions adapted to pass through said openings and engage the corrugations of the valve stem, a cam sleeve slidably mounted on the cylindrical member and adapted, when advanced, to force the sections of the split collar toward each other, a spring for advancing the cam sleeve, and a cylindrical closure surroundgagement with the cam sleeve for the purpose of retracting the same against the force of the spring.

2. ln a device of the class described, the con'ibination with a valve stem having a corrugated surface and a longitudinally eX- tending flattened surface, of al c vlindrical member slidaloly mounted on the valve stem and having a iiattened portion for engagement with the flattened surface of the valve stem, a split collar comprising sections cooperatively mounted With respect to the c vlindrical member and having corrugation engaging* portions adapted to engage the corrugations of the valve stem when the sections of the split collar are forced together, a cam sleeve slidably mounted with respect to the cylindrical member and adapted to engage the sections of the split collar for the purpose of forcing said sections together When the cam sleeve is advanced along the cylindrical member, and a spring for securing such advancement.

EDWARD E. HOLT. 

